Emil and Liliana Schmid, =
who hold=20
the world record for traveling on the longest journey =
by car=20
(23 years), smile in front of their car on Thursday. =
The 157=20
nations they have visited so far are listed on the =
side of=20
their vehicle.PHOTO: FLORA=20
WANG, TAIPEI =
TIMES

When Emil and=20
Liliana Schmid, a Swiss couple who hold the world record for =
the=20
longest journey by car -- they are in their 23rd year -- =
started=20
planning their trip to Taiwan while in Sarawak, Malaysia, =
they were=20
looking forward to having a close encounter with local =
culture in=20
Taiwan.

They chose Taiwan rather than China as their next =
destination=20
following Malaysia and Brunei because they did not see China =
as a=20
tourist-friendly country.

"China is very difficult [for tourists]," Emil Schmid =
told the=20
Taipei Times during an interview on Thursday.

PROHIBITIVE

China had required them to submit their itinerary at =
least=20
three months prior to their arrival and was charging =
US$3,000 once=20
the itinerary was approved, Emil said.

"Once it [the itinerary] is approved, you have to follow =
it. And=20
for that, they assign you a guide at the border who follows =
you all=20
the time until you leave the country," Emil said.

"I call it supervision," Emil said, adding that the =
Chinese=20
government also charges a daily fee of between US$100 and =
US$500,=20
which could add up to a total expense of US$10,000 for a =
one-month=20
stay.

"As=20
we cannot afford China, we decided that the next best thing =
[to=20
experience Chinese culture] was Taiwan," Emil said.

"Taiwan is as good as China, its people are more or less =
the=20
same, as are its culture and language. But in the end, =
Taiwan is=20
better," Emil said.

SOVEREIGN

On their Web site, where they post details of each of =
their=20
visits, Taiwan is listed as the 157th country visited over =
their 23=20
years of traveling.

"Taiwanese wanted to tell us about =
the=20
beauty of the nation. You can see that people are =
proud of=20
their homeland ... We found much more than we expected =
about=20
everything. It's the friendliness, it's the landscape =
and it's=20
the culture."

The Web site says that two adjustments had been made to =
the list,=20
but Emil Schmid told the Taipei Times that Taiwan was =
not one=20
of them because it had been included in the "sovereign =
country"=20
category from the very beginning.

"The question of Taiwan -- whether it is sovereign or not =
--=20
that's a matter of personal opinion," Emil said.

"I think it is an independent country because it once =
was. At=20
least until 1971, everybody recognized Taiwan as the =
Republic of=20
China and then somehow this was changed as the main power =
emerged=20
over there [in China] and the world forgot about Taiwan," he =
said.

"I don't think that's right," he said. "So I look upon =
Taiwan as=20
another country, even if it's not a member of the UN," Emil =
said.

BEAUTY

The Schmids arrived in Taiwan on Oct. 2, first =
traveling down=20
to Kaohsiung where they picked up their Toyota Land Cruiser =
and=20
kicked off their two-month journey around Taiwan.

Before sitting down with the Taipei Times on =
Thursday, the=20
Schmids had already been in Taiwan for one month, visiting=20
Kaohsiung, Kenting (=BE=C1=A4B), Taitung, =
Taroko Gorge=20
and Puli Township (=AEH=A8=BD) in Nantou =
County.

Of all the new experiences they have had in Taiwan, it =
was nature=20
that touched them most.

"Taiwan has the second-highest population density in the =
world. I=20
was so surprised to find so much untouched nature here," =
Liliana=20
said.

"All the butterflies in Kenting fly from blossom to =
blossom. You=20
rarely see this type of butterfly," she said. "You see, the =
cities=20
are very crowded, but as soon as you are outside, it is so=20
different."

The scale of untouched nature in Taiwan was the very =
opposite of=20
what they expected.

Before their arrival in Taiwan, they had thought people =
would be=20
"all over the place," Emil said.

ENGLISH

What made their journey far more rewarding was the=20
willingness of Taiwanese to communicate with them in =
English.

"We were in Japan in 1999, but Japanese people had the=20
disadvantage of not wanting to speak English. If you talk to =
Japanese or ask a question, they will act like an oyster. =
The=20
conversation is finished before it's even started. So you =
don't get=20
anything out of them," Emil said.

The response they received in Taiwan was much more =
positive, he=20
said.

"All over the nation, from Kaohsiung to Kenting to =
Taipei,=20
Taiwanese were willing to communicate in English," he said, =
using=20
the 30 e-mails from Taiwanese he had received over the past =
month as=20
an example.

"Those 30 e-mails mean a lot, because the e-mail address =
was=20
never mentioned in the TV or newspaper interviews we gave =
during our=20
stay in Taiwan. This means that to get in touch with us, =
Taiwanese=20
had to visit our Web site and look up our e-mail address. =
That's=20
another step. It means a lot," Emil said.

"Never before had we received so many e-mails," in any of =
the=20
countries we visited, he said. "We have done 57 TV =
interviews in 35=20
countries so far, as well as hundreds of interviews with =
newspapers,=20
but we had never had such a response as the one we've had =
here in=20
Taiwan. That is amazing."

"Taiwanese wanted to tell us about the beauty of the =
nation. You=20
can see that people are proud of their homeland," Liliana =
said.

The couple still has about three weeks to continue their=20
exploration of Taiwan before they leave for Hong Kong on =
Nov. 28.

But already, their experience in Taiwan has been an =
overwhelming=20
one.